Footprints in The Sand
by Dishdog
Summary: In an alternate history of the Gotei 13 and the Bleach story in general, Sosuke Aizen never existed. There will be OC's, canon characters that have changed, ones that haven't, paths will differ. Been on a bit of an un-announced hiatus, just got back to writing on 8/14/15)
1. Wrong Guy in Rukongai

Blood flew from his blade as he gave a sharp flick of his wrist, turning his body to face the enemy. They snarled and howled at him in terror and anger as their leader fell at his feet, its bone white mask cracked and torso cut cleanly through. The man raised his blade with one arm, the other hanging limply at his side as he shouted in a booming voice that demanded nothing short of total obedience.

"Leave! Return to your own side of this world, or you'll die by my hand just as the one who lead you here has!"

He was answered by one of the creatures lunging out at him, its boar like body charging across the ground, intending to gore him on one of its four cruelly curved tusks. The man gave a small frown, barely registered on his blank face before gripping his long blade in his other hand. In a practiced motion he angled the tusks away from his body with the blade before turning it at an even sharper angle and thrusting it through one of the boar's eyes, bringing the raging beast to its end. He once again let the blood coating his blade spray through the air, this time at the group of monster.

"Now, leave." he called again, there was no great howling or outlashes, the hollows starting to slowly back away before turning on their heels and fleeing in a group away from the towering Shinigami. The man sighed before turning toward a small patch of tall grass, shaking his head. "I know you're there, no need to go after them." he said with a grunt.

At his words a young woman with short brown hair popped her head out of the grass. "Well according to the law you're supposed to kill them all." she countered, crossing her arms. She wore a knowing smirk, her feline like green eyes glinting with humor.

"Cera, you know how I feel about this issue, so let's not dwell on it any longer. What brings the Omnitsukido out this far in Rukongai?" he asked curiously, sheathing his blade as he turned, adjusting the leather harness that hung across his chest and shoulder.

The girl stepped out of the brush, shaking her head. "You know I can't tell you that, Takeshi. However if you hear any rumors about a Shinigami that's recently acquired some stolen Asauchi...let me know, wouldn't mind a reenactment of the Hanging Dog." she grinned softly, giving him a two fingered salute before disappearing in shunpo.

Takeshi gave a light, barely noticeable smile as he turned to begin heading back towards the 10th Division barracks, thinking back to that little sting in the "Hanging Dog" district of Rukongai.

**25 years prior**

"_You sure this guy's on the up and up Yama?" the short, gang enforcer asked the far more imposing man next to him as they walked down the dirty streets of Inuzuri, the random passerby every few seconds taking care to give them a wide berth, knowing the reputation of the Makeinu Gang, which had been spreading its arms out across most of Rukongai as of late, though this was easily its most well controlled region at the moment. The two that were heading down the street at the moment were known to most as Yama and Same. The former had only recently joined, but had earned recognition as being a top rate warrior and capable leader, while the latter was of the older breed, known for his unwavering loyalty to the family boss: Kenshi Yamato. Both had been paired together for several months, with Yama often acting as muscle when needed, while Same did most of the smooth talking. The meeting that they were headed to now required a little bit of both intimidation, and a well polished silver tongue. By some coincidence, they had come across a black market merchant who had claimed to have Asauchi among his many wares. _

"_He wouldn't be fool enough to try and trick us. If he is, he'll meet his end like anybody else who would have the gal for that kind of treachery." Yama said simply, adjusting a leather harness that held his own sword on the small of his back. _

"_Ehhh, I dunno, remember that little bitch from the Gotei that tried to buy information off of us? Y'know? Coconut head?" he chuckled, scratching at the tattoo of a shark on his neck. _

"_She was Omnitsukido, not regular Gotei." Yama corrected. "She wasn't really looking for information, she was seeing if we had it in the first place. Luckily you were able to convince her without even knowing, that we did not have the information that she wanted." _

"_What? She was one of those killers? Damn, I'm surprised we haven't gotten knifed in our sleep." he shivered._

_Yama gave a short laugh as they entered a decently sized gambling den, stopping and turning to the other. "Alright, now I'm going to let you speak for the majority, but try to keep it a bit more professional. These guys don't haggle with high value items." he explained in a low voice. _

_The tattooed man gave a short nod. "Yep, got that clear. You got a plan if this all goes tits up?" he asked, crossing his arms expectantly. _

"_Yeah, I had a few of the little brothers hang around the tables." he said as he patted the shorter man on the shoulder, walking through the gambling area and toward the private rooms where all manner of debauchery could take place without prying eyes looking in. The two entered one of the few rooms, finding it to be populated by nothing but a small round table and two chairs on either side. There was a boarded up window on the back wall of the room, with two dim lanterns hung on each side of it. In the chair closest to them, with their backed turned sat a figure wearing a set of voluminous robes and a fake hollow mask. _

"_Have a seat, gentleman." came a liquid smooth, androgynous voice from behind the mask as the merchant waved a hand to the other chairs, before sliding that hand back beneath the robes. Both of the gang members took their seats while the merchant began to speak again. "By your rather grumpy faces I take it you're here for only business? Shame, I have some lovely opiates for sale as well..." the figure purred, trailing off as if to try and elicit interest, only to see both of its potential customers frown. "Ah, was worth a try~ Now as for my special stock, the going price is 4,500 per blade." _

_Same jumped from his seat, slamming his hands on the table. "What?! That's highway robbery! If you expect us to pay-" _

"_Same, calm yourself." Yama said with a low growl, looking back to the merchant. "The price is steep, so my boss would most likely want us to get a sample to test, to make sure that it is indeed an Asauchi before paying full price. Perhaps a rented blade at 500 per month?" the younger of the two suggested._

_The merchant gave a low sigh, nodding once as while waving a hand, an Asauchi sliding out from the wide sleeve. The mysterious figure caught it by the hilt before setting it down on the table. "This should suffice then. I'll give you a drop point for your coin through one of my associates as you leave." _

_The two men on the other side of the table nodded as they stood, giving short bows before taking the stolen blade and walking out of the room in unison. As they left the private area and into the main gambling room, multiple men dressed in simple clothing removed themselves from the tables, falling in behind the other two and beginning to surround them, acting as a guard to the two that now carried an item of nearly insurmountable wealth to a gang in Rukongai. _

_It was a good week before the Makeinu boys found the merchant to have made good on its promise of providing actual Asauchi and not some look alike replica. Kenshi Yamato, the boss of the gang took the sword himself, able to imprint his soul onto the sword and giving himself the power to begin a much more aggressive expansion into the other districts, gaining the funds needed to contact the merchant again, only to find that the mysterious figure had disappeared, as well as one of his top lieutenants._

_Kenshi considered this as he knelt in front of a small offering box, lighting one last stick of incense before making a short bow and standing to his feet again, his new Zanpakuto tucked in his expensive haori carefully as he exited the shrine building. He still wasn't sure what to make of the merchant's disappearance, all of those that were involved with black market dealings for any length of time were usually smart enough not to get caught. Then there was the matter of Yama disappearing, the man had come in and clawed his way into a position others would never be able to accomplish even with decades of work. Nearly as soon as he'd gotten in though, he vanished. The Oyabun of the Makeinu gave a low growl, clenching his fists for a moment before exhaling in an effort to calm himself. No, this wasn't something that he truly needed to worry about, he was in a strong position, even if his trusted men didn't wield Zanpakuto, he could still carry this organization to new, and prosperous heights. The man let out a sigh, running a hand over his close shaved head, fingers touching lightly at the scar that tore across his scalp and to both ears. Kenshi smiled lightly, before blinking as he heard a loud cry from one of the guards , one of agony and rage._

_The older man was still quite spry, and dashed down the stairs that lead up to the shrine, drawing his blade as he crested the ridge that overlooked the gates to the temple. He froze dead in his tracks as he looked out over the scene in front of him: Both of his guards that he'd brought were dead, one decapitated, the other with a dead hand clutching at a massive gash that went from his left hip up to his right shoulder. The most shocking however, was the figure that stood between both of them, a long nodachi dripping blood onto the ground. _

"_Yama..." Kenshi muttered, his face drooping in disbelief, which quickly turned to twisted with rage. "You traitorous swine!" he shouted, drawing his blade and launching himself at the man, hoping to get too far inside his personal space to allow for that heavy blade to cute through him._

"_I won't deny it, I did betray you, though I never truly followed you." the taller warrior said, his voice neutral and reserved as he jumped back deftly, readying his blade for a follow-up attack. "In fact my entire identity to you is a lie. My name is Oka Takeshi, and by the authority of the Gotei 13 and enforcement of that authority by the Omnitsukido, you are hereby under arrest."_

"_Why you..." the elderly Yakuza growled, his grip tightening on his blade before the man let out a cry of pain, as two thick needles pierced his body in several exact spots, triggering various pressure points and sending the man crumpling to the ground, his eyes searching up and around to find the source of his attacker, eventually spotting a short, brown haired girl who flashed in front of Yama/Takeshi while he felt hands haul him up, a brown sackcloth bag forced over his head._

**Present**

Takeshi chuckled lightly at the recollection, remembering how the merchant, Asauchi thieves, and that particular yakuza boss had been removed from the playing field. It had been rather simple, Takeshi infiltrated the organization under disguise, waiting till he was able to be sent on more important deals, such as the one with that got the in contact with the black market merchant. Though the Omnitsukido knew full well that the Asauchi were real, and that there was no need for a so called "trial period," however a lump sum, no matter how large tends to get split up to avoid conspicuous deposits. Multiple smaller payments tend to go to one location, and multiple payments meant that Cera and her skilled corps were able to track down the merchant and the group of thieves that managed to steal the blades in the first place. Normally such things could be swept under the table by connections with nobles, but not when there was enough evidence to fill a room.

Since then he'd transferred out of the 2nd Division, moving to the 10th to fill a vacant officer's position, though most of his time recently had been spent around the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, assisting the 12th Division Captain and President of the Institute with various experiments, including some that involved subjects that some would find a bit, questionable, but Takeshi and the former Detention Squad head knew that some lines had to be stepped over every now and then. The most recent project that the recently minted Captain had in mind was a device that he had named the Hogyoku, though its potential was limitless, neither he nor his research team had found any use for its immense power. Today however, it would be different, today Takeshi had come upon an epiphany on just how to use such great power.

**Author's Note**

**Hey, first chapter of this fic, one that I've had banging around inside my head for months, picking apart things I wanna do with it, never really thinking that I'd put it up. Well, I did, so now you all get to view my trash! Now I don't know how often this will get updated, or even how long it will go on for. If people respond positively to it, I'll try and keep it going, if not, eh I can leave it in my head. Review if you want, criticize if you care.**


	2. Gears Start Turning

Sweat hung precariously from the blonde's nose as he was bent over the work station, his gloved hands carefully manipulating the nearly microscopic prods to turn the device in front of him before reaching over without looking away, turning a small plastic dial on the nearby console, listening to the soft clicks to determine how far he'd adjusted it so far. He watched the small gem-like object give pulsing glows, a soft smile crossing his face. It wasn't often that he got a response from the device, at least not as a direct result of his fiddling. He slowly removed the manipulating prongs, a small glass looking case closing around it. He gingerly picked up the case, setting it inside of a dull looking wooden case and sliding it into a hidden crevice underneath one of the tables before turning to the door. He didn't have any sort of premonition, but his guest was punctual by a fault, while also being random to anyone not specifically watching him or trying to track his movements

He counted off mentally in his head, even tapping on his thigh with his fingers going from five down to a closed fist signifying zero as three slow knocks, spaced out by a measured number of seconds sounded on the thick wooden door. Kisuke Uruhara reached over, pressing a switch that unlocked the multitude of locks that held the door in place, watching with a small smile as his willing guinea pig stepped in. In truth calling him a guinea pig was a bit inaccurate, Takeshi was much closer to a research partner as of late, offering opinions beyond simply where not to put the needle.

"Ah, Takeshi, you're punctual as always, come in! I've made some progress tod-Oh my...that look on your face, is something the matter?" he asked, his smile dissipating, but not gone entirely. He knew that Takeshi occasionally had reservations about the work they did, especially surrounding the Hogyoku, but he had quite a mind for progress.

Takeshi gave a short bow before shaking his head. "No, Captain Urahara, but an idea perhaps. The original goal of this device has been to bridge the gap between ourselves and hollows, correct?"

Kisuke gave a nod, beckoning for the tall man to sit as he poured them both a small saucer of liquor, a tradition more than anything, but it helped to sooth Takeshi's tension.

"Perhaps we've been going about it the wrong way, we've been trying to give hollows bits of shinigami power, but I think that the same method, only reversed, would work. Traditionally this would cause soul suicide, I know, but we still don't know how this device works other than on a very general level. I'm thinking, this hogyoku is a way to maintain the balance, a stabilizing agent essentially." He explained carefully, as if trying to make sure that his words made sense. As he watched his scientific mentor's eyes go down in thought he felt that he had accomplished his goal.

"And...who would you suggest for test subjects? I'll not try this on such an asset to both myself and the Gotei 13 like yourself, and a passerby on the streets of Rukongai would surely die from such a process." He said, his voice low while he thought, obviously trying to think this through fully.

Takeshi nodded his head, forgetting that Kisuke wasn't like his Vice-president in the Shinigami R&amp;D Institute, Mayuri, who would flay somebody alive just to see why they had a faster cognitive process than normal, so the 3rd seated officer wasn't likely to be the first to go under the knife.

"The Nest."

Takeshi looked up from his reverie of thought as Urahara spoke up, a grim smile on his face. Takeshi briefly had to think what he meant, before realizing that he was referring to the Maggot's Nest, the closest thing that the Gotei 13 had to a prison. He continued to look over at the genius captain, waiting for him to continue.

"We can use prisoners from the Maggot's Nest, obviously not my first choice for stable test subjects...but testing a hypothesis like this is hardly something to be picky about where the material comes from. " He said, starting to grow hopeful. "If this works, perhaps we can find a way to mimic the process in the other direction, well done Takeshi." He chuckled, patting the man's shoulder.

Takeshi gave a very light smile. "Thank you, sir. When should we get a hold of the prisoners? I already have at least one in mind that would be relatively sane still, and if so, smart enough to take a chance at freedom. With your permission I'll collect him along with the rest of my list tomorrow."

The captain just smiled and pushed a refilled saucer of sake to him. "To breakthroughs and progress?"

"Indeed..."

She was a huntress, a demon of the shadows and angel of death in the light. 'Or hell, that's probably how Xiao would describe me..' the woman thought with an inward chuckle 'More like the baddest bitch with a blade.' Her emerald eyes staring down at the aforementioned male and the group of men around him, all of them criminals, but only one with a life worth anything.

Same Hanzo was a name that had come up as a pliable criminal, somebody who could be paid for a job here and there, keeping the squeamish Central 46 happy, and her own practical and efficient corps satisfied. However as of late, the former Makeinu advisor and enforcer had started to let his verbal invoices slip and fall on the wrong ears, that made him a liability and threat. When Yoruichi Shihoin, her captain and one of the few people that Cera would actually refer to in a proper manner, needed a loose thread removed, she called her forward. Sure there was her busy bee Soi(Sauce) Fon, and she was capable, but she was favored a bit more by her captain, her talents recognized and earning her a spot as head of her personal guard. Cera definitely liked it this way, being out in the field and stalking your prey, rather than waiting till you were being stalked and had to defend yourself.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she saw one of the men draw his blades, before even the notoriously quick Omnitsukido assassin could move Xiao had removed the man's sword hand in a graceful, lightning quick motion, slipping his blade back into its scabbard immediately after. She gripped the branch she was perched on, ready to launch herself forward to defend her friend, only to see Same shouting orders for everybody to stand down. Cera narrowed her eyes, watching curiously as he removed his sword, scabbard and all, handing it to Xiao. The dusty haired girl tilted her head, was he giving up that easily?

Her answer came in the form of Same's sword exploding in a massive cloud of black smoke. She didn't wait, drawing her tanto shaped Zanpakuto from its harness around her bicep and making several short flash steps forward, the sound similar to a thundering line of hide-drums. Most of the men had tried to close in on Xiao, and Cera briefly felt worry run through her before bringing it in check like she'd been trained to, her body moving of its own accord as she tracked the reitsu of her target, slipping around one of his guards, her arm casually swinging up, her blade slicing through his throat easily, Cera shuddered as she felt his hot blood spray against her cheek and side of her neck. She burst through one side of the cloud, spotting Same running at full tilt. She grinned, flipping her tanto through her fingers before sending it whirling with unnatural distance and speed, straight into the base of the man's spine.

-seconds earlier-

Xiao felt the scabbard grow unnaturally hot, his hand dropping it immediately as he moved to draw his Zanpakuto, the weapon that fell at his feet exploded like paper in a whirl of black smoke, obscuring the fair faced man's every sense but touch. He knew he needn't pursue Same, Cera would handle that, he just had to survive.

He turned as he heard the whistle of a blade slicing through the air, his own coming up and deflecting it to the side, sliding his up along its length in a swift, clean motion that was slowed only by the man's hands, stopping with the tip embedded in his heart. Xiao didn't know how many seconds that had taken, but he barely had time to turn before he was forced to stop a club with his hand. He yanked it down, bringing his knee up and cracking it against the attacker's face, hard enough to send him into the cool arms of unconsciousness. With the smoke barely starting to clear he spotted the shadow of another, holding his throat as if trying to stop blood from leaking out.

'Cera...long fang indeed...' he thought, knowing the efficiency of his friend very well.

An animalistic yell brought his attention to a large man who swung a massive naginata down at him. Xiao simply stepped forward and to the side, crouching low as he thrust his blade up under the behemoth's ribcage, giving a twist before pulling away.

'That's four, now where's...'

Once again he turned to the sound of an untrained thug trying to kill him, this one with pair of daggers. The short, effeminate shinigami sighed, simply raising a hand and muttering a low level incantation as blue lightning sparked from his fingertip and burned the man beyond medical aid.

By now the smoke had mostly cleared, the young man turning to the sounds of a man screaming in abject horror. He expected Cera to be involved, and was proved right as the diminutive assassin strode towards her prey. He knew that his part was done here, and that Cera would have no trouble dealing with the now paralyzed man, so he simply observed, looking at the various criminals that lay dead around them, checking them for any sort of affiliation tattoos.

Cera hummed as she moved over to her fallen target, reaching down to pull her blade out, eliciting a scream from Same, who seemed almost too stunned to speak other than in barely coherent mutters and whimpers. She doubted that she'd get much out of him right now, losing the use of your limbs was something that could do that too you. She supposed that if she really wanted she could have just got him in the leg and slowed him down, but why waste the time when a knife through the spine does it all in one go?

"Hey Gramps, remember me? Look I'm real sorry about this, the Gotei 13 super appreciate all the work you've done for us, but you've been way too chatty. So what you're gonna do, is tell me who you told, or who you think you've told. Don't worry I don't need to write this down." she said simply as she crouched in front of him, playing idly with her Zanpakuto, as if it were a large spider that she was letting crawl about her hand. "Oi, old man, you even here with me? Come on it isn't even that bad, y'ain't dead, not yet."

"M-my legs, I-I can't feel my legs..." he whimpered, apparently unable to even register that Cera was there, which was about as she'd expected.

The assassin sighed, scratching her chin with the back of her fist before shrugging and swinging down, striking the man on the top of the head with the hilt of her weapon, rendering him unconscious before grabbing him by the collar of his happi and tossing the much larger man over her shoulder, turning to Xiao.

"Oi! I'm taking this one in to be questioned, thanks for being bait!" she called, sheathing her Zanpakuto before jumping away in a blur of shunpo, making it several hundred meters before hearing her Soul Pager ring, groaning as she reached into her pocket, pulling it free and checking the number, blinking in surprise as she dropped the crippled and unconscious man, using him as an impromptu seat before answering.

"Kisuke? Ain't this a surprise? What's up?" she asked casually, wondering how the former 3rd seat was doing, but far too curious about the call itself to ask.

"Ah, well I'm actually in the need of a favor from you..." came the voice, almost sounding embarrassed to ask his replacement in his old division.

"I'm not going to get you into the Silk Garden. They'd revoke my membership if I snuck you in." she chuckled, trying to keep the mood light.

"I'm afraid it's a bit more...complicated. I need live test subjects, shinigami to be exact." he began to explain. "I need to get into the Maggot's Nest, or have some of them moved, discreetly"

Cera sat up sharply at the mention of the prison building, scratching her cheek with a interrogative hum. She wasn't too shocked or taken aback by the need for live subjects, but it was the fact that he needed people from the Maggot's Nest that started her worrying, especially after the mention of discreet movement. She had the authorization to get him in of course, but she was sure that someone would question the paperwork...if they saw it that is.

"Alright Captain, I'll see what I can do, but if this comes down on my head..." she said with a hint of warning, shutting off her pager immediately after for effect. Oh she knew he was a Captain, but she had some tricks up her sleeve that even he would be wary of in a fight. She only hoped that he knew what he was doing, whatever it was. The young assassin sighed lightly as she reached down, hauling her cargo back up onto her shoulder before disappearing again to complete her mission, and to try and figure out just what was going to become of Kisuke Urahara's test subjects.

'Oh it's gonna be a long day...'

* * *

**Well there's chapter two folks, the way I think I'm gonna do each of these first few chapters is introducing any non-canon characters in some way. As always feel free to criticize and make comments, I appreciate any advice. Also a note on the Hogyoku, the source material was pretty vague on why Urahara wanted to get it made, he thought he knew its purpose, but why would he want that kind of power? I decided not to look too deep into it, but I may revisit it in a later chapter. Final note, somebody was kind enough to do a commission of one of the characters in this Fanfic: Takeshi Oka everybody: **** art/Commission-Takeshi-Oka-498634355 **

Artist was Nekozumi on deviantArt


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